€400m to build... but Aviva’s roof is leaking

It's a glittering icon of glass and steel, the brave new face of rugby and soccer – and it’s got a problem.

Despite its €400m cost, nearly half paid for by the taxpayer, despite 72,000 tonnes of concrete and 5,000 of steel, the roof of the new Aviva stadium is as leaky as an Airtricity XI or Munster-Connaught defence.

According to one steward in the upper tiers, the bosses of the newly opened 50,000-seater stadium do not know about the faults in the roof because they ‘don’t come up here’.

Rained off: The 50,000-seater Aviva Stadium, on the former Lansdowne Road site, where rugby fans in the upper tiers got a dousing last weekend

The top brass inhabit the swish corporate suites of the former Lansdowne Road stadium.

The under-20 Munster and Connacht rugby team drowned under a torrent of trys last Saturday, losing­ 68-0 to an impressive Leinster-­Ulster combination in the stadium’s first match.

The rugby players weren’t the only people in the stadium to be washed out, however, as spectators in the gods had to dodge water spouting through the roof as the heavens opened at half time.

One fan, Dermot McMonagle, from Cavan, was in the Upper Tier of the South Stand when he noticed a number of leaks.

He told the Irish Mail on Sunday: ‘There was quite a heavy, swirly shower after half-time. It was coming down through the roof at a couple of places near at hand, within eight or nine feet, and later it was coming down behind me, too.

‘In fairness, a steward came early on and saw the leaks. Some of us made a remark like, “It isn’t a good sign”. He smiled and said, “Well the people that make the decisions around here don’t come up here”.

He added: ‘There was one substantial leak about 10 feet away, about four or five rows from the back and it would have affected four seats. The people beneath it got up and went to other seats.’

Bad sign: Dermot McMonagle noticed leaks

Moving seats was possible on Saturday as the stadium was not full to capacity. It would have been more difficult had there been a downpour last Wednesday – when Manchester United beat an Airtricity League XI – with an impressive attendance of 49,861.

Mr McMonagle pointed out that the stadium was a €400m-plus investment and that we, as taxpayers, have subscribed some €191m to the venture.

He said: ‘For the type of money that was involved this shouldn’t happen. The snag list is still there and many structural teething problems seem to need immediate attention.

‘My own personal opinion on the stadium is the jury’s still out on the Aviva.’

It is not the first controversy to dog the sports venue. The showcase soccer match on Wednesday was marred for some fans who faced ticket queues that took several hours to clear.

The FAI had said tickets would be on sale from 9am to 5pm on the day. Following some sales at the stadium in the morning, however, a makeshift ticket booth was only opened at 4.30pm that ­afternoon.

The opening match featured Manchester United star Wayne Rooney – heavily criticised for ‘taking a leak’ on a British street last weekend.

A spokesman for the Aviva Stadium acknowledged a number of leaks remain in the structure but insisted: ‘These resulted not from the actual roof itself but from the interface of the roof with the guttering.’

Claiming the problem is fixed, he said: ‘This only happened in a small number of areas which have all been identified and work has been undertaken to ensure the problem does not reoccur.’

The spokesman also said: ‘In relation to any major building and, in particular, a stadium it is quite normal that “snagging’’ continues after the building has opened for business.

‘In fact, in the case of a stadium, it is essential that the building is operational in order to identify problems that will only ever arise once there are people in it.’

The good news for fans and the stadium alike is that Met Éireann is forecasting a dry evening for Ireland’s match against Argentina this Wednesday.